Androgens (testosterone, DHT)
Cystic chin and jawline acne is almost always androgen-driven. Often elevated after stopping the pill.
+ Symptom 07
Skin · Hormones · Gut
I'm ashamed of my skin.
You watch the photos go past, the videos, the meetings — and all you can see is your skin. Cystic, hormonal, monthly. Or red, hot, reactive. Or dull, congested, never quite right. You've tried the products. The dermatologist. Roaccutane. The pill. It's still here.
Skin that breaks out cyclically, after the pill, in your thirties or after 40 isn't a topical problem first. It's a hormone, gut, oestrogen-clearance and inflammation problem showing up at the surface. We treat the cause.
The Picture
If this is you,
it might sound like —
Read these the way you'd read a letter from someone who already knows. If three or more land hard, you're in the right place.
- Cystic acne on my chin and jawline every month.
- My skin got worse when I came off the pill.
- I've tried every product. Nothing lasts.
- It flares the week before my period.
- Rosacea — red, hot, sensitive — that won't calm.
- Dull, congested, "tired-looking" skin.
- Breakouts on my chest, back, shoulders.
- I avoid mirrors and selfies.
+ Key Drivers
What the skin is telling us.
Topical treatments treat the appearance. Hormones, gut and clearance treat the cause. Both have a place — but the cause is what makes results last.
Oestrogen excess + slow clearance
Breast tenderness + premenstrual breakouts + heavy bleeds = oestrogen the body can't clear.
Insulin resistance
Insulin drives androgens. Insulin drives sebum. Skin is the surface of the metabolic system.
Gut dysbiosis + leaky gut
70% of immune cells live in the gut. Skin reflects what's happening inside it.
Histamine intolerance
"Sensitive skin," rosacea, flushing and unpredictable reactions are often histamine, not allergy.
Liver overload
When phase I + II detox are sluggish, the skin becomes a third elimination organ.
+ Key Tests
How we see the surface.
Skin reflects the system. Test hormones, gut, insulin and clearance — and the surface follows.
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DUTCH · Hormones + clearanceOestrogen + clearance pathways, androgens (testosterone, DHT, DHEA), progesterone, full cortisol curve.
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Comprehensive bloodsFasting insulin, HbA1c, full thyroid, ferritin, vitamin D, zinc, inflammation markers.
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GI-MAP · Stool DNA panelGut bugs, inflammation, leaky-gut markers, opportunistic overgrowth driving systemic immune load.
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HTMA · Mineral panelZinc + copper ratio, magnesium, mineral status. Zinc is critical for skin healing.
+ Foundational Must-Haves
What you can start today.
Six high-leverage daily moves. Skin turnover takes time — meaningful change typically appears at 8-12 weeks, not 8-12 days.
- Cap dairy for 8 weeks. The single highest-leverage food trial for hormonal acne — drives IGF-1 and androgens.
- 30 g protein at breakfast + cut sugar from drinks. Stabilises insulin, the upstream driver of androgens.
- Zinc 30 mg with food daily. Anti-androgenic, anti-inflammatory, critical for skin repair.
- A daily bowel movement. Constipation re-circulates the oestrogen and toxins your skin would otherwise need to clear.
- Treat the gut before the skin. Probiotics, fermented foods, prebiotic fibre — or testing-led if it's stubborn.
- Fewer products, less often. Most 'sensitive skin' routines are over-stripped. A simple cleanser, a barrier cream, SPF.
+ The Process with How It Heals
Skin is the surface of the system.
Topical treatments treat the appearance. Hormones, gut, insulin and clearance treat the cause. Both have a place — but if the cause isn't addressed, the surface keeps coming back.
Most clients see meaningful skin shifts inside 8-12 weeks (skin turnover takes time). By month 4, the cyclical breakouts usually aren't predictable anymore.
+ From the women in front of us
What changed.
Selected from clients who started here — cyclical or post-pill acne, rosacea, congestion that wouldn't lift — and worked through the 22-week reset.
First month in years without a cystic breakout. The DUTCH test showed exactly which hormone was the problem.
E.M. · 32 · Bulimba
Roaccutane twice. The pill twice. Eight weeks of treating my gut and the skin is finally calm.
A.J. · 34 · Telehealth